It ain’t over til it’s over…that’s what I’ve been told

Is the season over? Not quite. It may FEEL that way but there IS a long way to go. Face it, we’ve been down this road before – 1983, 1981, 1963, 1962. But what it REALLY feels like is 1992…when the Mets were called “The Worst Team Money Could Buy.”

There is no question that since Steve Cohen has taken over the New York Mets as the majority owner, he has been willing to spend whatever is asked of him to change the climate of the once questionable organization run by the Wilpons. He has put money into management, he has put money into the scouting department and farm system, he has put money into an analytics department, and he has certainly put money into players. So where has it gone awry?

There was a time when old baseball people would run the show. They had the knowledge of the game and there was a deep-rooted brotherhood of people who paid their dues as both players and executives learning the craft. The game has evolved and so has the management of the game and the ball clubs. No longer is there a crusty old man wearing a bow-tie sitting behind a desk with a big cigar in his mouth, but some young 30-something from an Ivy League school who is more adept at solving the square root of Pi than when to play hit and run. And every owner seems to be chasing after this new “boy genius” to somehow bring a magic formula to turn things around.

Steve Cohen was for some reason enamored with David Stearns and wanted him from the moment he wrangled control from the Wilpons. His early days of ownership were an embarrassment, really, as he had to endure a revolving door of general managers who he really didn’t want in the first place, but were in no way competent to handle the job of New York Mets GM. After seasons of confusion and trying to right the ship, Stearns finally became available and Cohen handed him the keys to the store.

But…while Stearns was viewed as “successful” in Milwaukee, he was not nearly as successful as Theo Epstein was in Boston, or as successful as he became in Chicago. Epstein turned two major market franchises around and won World Series titles in two major cities that had extremely long droughts.

Stearns was not able to get the Brewers to turn the corner and win any title. Not to take credit away from him, but the Brewers were annually competitive in a division that is annually the weakest in the Major Leagues. Competitive is great, but results matter more in a major market like Boston, Chicago, and New York.

Stearns had every right to clean house and put HIS stamp on this franchise. Johnny Murphy did it with moves that led to a championship in 1969. Frank Cashen did it with some very unpopular moves (at the time) that led to a championship in 1986.

It has been done before. So there is really nothing wrong with that. What IS wrong is what you DO with that free hand. And what Stearns has done, at least thus far, is put a horribly constructed roster together.

Stearns has said over and over again from the time he arrived that 1) the team needs to get more athletic; 2) the team needs to get better defensively; and 3) the team needs to get younger.

1) The team needs to get more athletic

I don’t even know what this means anymore in Major League Baseball. Does it mean that the player can play multiple positions and play them all well? Does it mean that the player knows the game, how to play it, and what to do in each circumstance? Does it mean that the player knows how to execute fundamentally?

Well the answer to all of those questions, if you refer to the Mets players, is that I can’t point to a single player that can be an affirmative to any of it. But that goes for so many players in Major League Baseball today that I would think that we can’t hold the Mets accountable for what is the culture in baseball today.

2) The team needs to get better defensively

How can you make that statement seriously and then sign a guy like Jorge Polanco to play first base, who played all of one inning at the position? Right there you lost your credibility. But let’s not stop there…let’s sign Bo Bichette to play third base who has never played an inning at THAT position. Or wait, let’s play Brett Baty in right field who is in no way an outfielder. Or let’s play Ronny Mauricio, a butcher at ANY position you put him at in the field, at shortstop in the absence of Francisco Lindor and watch him look ridiculous at every ball hit near him.

The team did not get BETTER defensively, the team got WORSE defensively. You have too many players playing out of position. And even when they are IN their natural position, they are not very good. The only player who appears to be superior defensively is Carson Benge and even HE is playing out of his natural position of centerfield.

3) The team needs to get younger

If Stearns really wanted the team to get younger, then say up front that there is a youth movement and rid the team of the overpaid dead weight and let the “kids” play – for better or worse – and stop jerking them around and playing them in positions they are not suited for. It’s not going to help the team win, it’s not going to make the young players better, and it will only stunt their growth and, perhaps, ruin their careers. The Mets have done this so many times with young position players.

The team did not get YOUNGER, they got older.

You have a Marcus Semien playing second base who WAS a really good player but whose best years are a bit behind him. You have Luis Robert Jr. who WAS a really good offensive player and a great defensive player but who is limited in his ability to play at all because he has to be coddled the way David Wright was treated while going through the spinal stenosis. And you have Jorge Polanco, a middle infielder, learning to play first base, but is absent from class because he is, yet again, injured and can’t play. So you want to get younger but you bring in three aging players who are not bringing anything to the table.

So based on the three goals that David Stearns himself set for the Mets…he has failed…and failed miserably.

So typically the finger gets pointed at the manager. And Carlos Mendoza is being targeted. And that is unfair. However, while it IS unfair, he is probably not the right person for the job, but we really don’t know that. Why? Because No. 1…he is simply playing with the cards he has been dealt – with both players and coaches. None of which are his choices and of his doing. And No. 2…this is a different age of managing. Can you imagine Gil Hodges, Whitey Herzog, or Bobby Cox dealing with this kind of baseball structure…getting a lineup card written by some 20-year-old kids from Harvard?

It’s not Mendoza’s fault but we may never know what managerial abilities he possesses.

Stearns wheeling and dealing has been a disaster in itself

The acquisitions Stearns made at last season’s trade deadline proved to be horrible…so horrible that the name Darrin Ruf may never be mentioned again. But we know that those quick fixes or hopeful injections are really a crap shoot, just like piecing together a bullpen with suspect arms. I get it. But when he had the chance to put together a viable squad in the off season, he blew it…absolutely blew it.

The ins…

Marcus Semien is no longer the dominant player he once was. He is on the downside of his career. Luis Robert Jr. is an unreliable player who should not be considered a front-line player any longer. Jorge Polanco was never a good choice for this team unless he was a final piece to add and was healthy. Freddy Peralta has proven that he is nothing more than a five-inning pitcher. That might be acceptable in today’s world of pitching, but certainly not for a team needing an ace. Devin Williams has some great stuff, but can’t handle the high pressure situations. Luke Weaver is not a back end of the bullpen guy.

Bo Bichette is a really good player who is likely going to want to get out of this place as soon as possible. He was an average to below average defensive player at shortstop, but an above average and clutch offensive player. On neither side is he better than Francisco Lindor. But he is the one piece that was added that made SOME sense if he was playing second base.

The outs…

Jeff McNeil would have been useful but his act was overplayed. He would have added nothing to this team. Brandon Nimmo had some value but was no longer an everyday position player. In Texas it may not make as much of a difference as it does in New York. Pete Alonso is badly struggling to prove his worth in Baltimore…his performance is embarrassing. Edwin Diaz…well…he is done and perhaps the Mets knew about the issue?

The rest…

Mark Vientos AND Brett Baty have both been ruined by this organization. They have been jerked around so much and their progress has been stunted. And by this time, it shouldn’t be “progress” but “performance.” I like them both as hitters but they have not performed, and are not LIKELY TO perform, in a Mets uniform. If I were them, I would WANT to be gone. Francisco Alvarez could be the next great hitting catcher in MLB or he could be the next Gary Sanchez. Either way, it’s frustrating watching him flounder under these conditions. And PLEASE stop with Ronny Mauricio. It’s been five years already and he is AWFUL with a horrible attitude. He can’t play any position and he is not a good hitter on the Major League level.

Carson Benge and Nolan McLean both look like the real deal. Benge is pressing but he really appears to have the ability and approach to overcome the disastrous start. McLean appears to be the next Jacob deGrom. He has a huge arsenal…give a great performance…with nothing to show for it.

So all in all…typical expectations for a New York Mets season. The Mets currently are tied for the worst record in baseball with the archrival Philadelphia Phillies at 9-19. It’s a long season but it doesn’t look like the Mets will soon recover from this debacle created by Stearns.